Landing problem mars successful private space plane glide test

Washington, Oct. 30 (ANI): Landing gear problem ruined the perfect debut test flight of one of the three privately owned space taxis being developed in collaboration with NASA to ferry crews to the International Space Station.

Sierra Nevada's seven-person Dream Chaser space plane's full-scale mockup was taken to an altitude of 12,500 feet by heavy-lift Sikorsky skycrane helicopter and released for a one-minute glide back to the runway.

The main objective of the flight was to validate the Dream Chaser's aerodynamic design.

In addition, the test was also intended to show that it could autonomously fly and land itself.

However, after the plane touched down on a runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California, one of the Dream Chaser's three landing gears failed to drop down, and left it struggling for balance as it shot down the landing strip, Discovery News reported.

Sierra Nevada Corp. vice president Mark Sirangelo said that no one was injured, nor was there any damage to the runway. (ANI)